Children’s National will provide clinical services and operations and administrative management of the NICU including direct patient care and medical record management.

Dr. Billie Lou Short, division chief, neonatology at Children’s National, has been named medical director of Virginia Hospital’s NICU and will oversee management of its daily activities.

“We are thrilled to be joining forces with a world class organization such as Children’s National Medical Center,” Dr. Jeffrey DiLisi, vice president and chief medical officer at Virginia Hospital, said in a statement. “The direction and oversight that Children’s National will provide adds even greater depth to the outstanding neonatology program that the Arlington Neonatology Group established over 10 years ago. Our tiniest patients will continue to receive the best care with even more advanced medical services and resources available through Children’s National.”

The Children’s National neonatology team was recently ranked sixth in the country by U.S. News & World Report.

Virginia Hospital Center’s NICU is a Level 3B and can care for babies at and above 24 weeks gestational age.

Approximately 10 percent of babies born at Virginia Hospital Center require NICU care.
The medical capabilities of Level 3B include providing a higher level of respiratory support for babies requiring high-frequency ventilation with an oscillator, and providing nitric oxide for babies in need of help to circulate blood with higher levels of oxygen.

Babies requiring surgery are transferred to a medical facility with pediatric surgical specialists.

The recent renovation of the Hospital’s Women & Infant Health Unit included a $1.2 million overhaul of the NICU, featuring 16 suites.

Founded more than 60 years ago, Virginia Hospital Center is a 342-bed facility.